26 weeks to re-let social homes, says South Dublin County Council

Gary Ibbotson 01 Oct 2021

The outsourcing of work to re-let council homes is causing delays in assigning social housing, South Dublin County Councillors have said.

The concerns were raised following the release of re-let times at the September council meeting which found that the average time to re-let a dwelling now stands at 26 weeks, or half a year.

This is in comparison to August 2016 when the average time was nine and a half weeks.

Since 2016, the number of empty homes has also increased, from 47 to 108.

In its answer to a question tabled by People Before Profit councillor Madeleine Johansson, council management said that the vast majority of re-let works are outsourced to private contractors.

“Typically clearing the vacated houses of waste and previous tenants unwanted personal belongings is carried out by our direct labour team unless the level and type of waste contamination poses a health and safety risk and requires the expertise of external specialist trained contractors.

“Approximately 90% of properties are cleared by the council’s direct labour staff,” the council said.

“Repair works to relet properties are primarily carried out by a single specialist contractor who coordinates the essential craftworkers required to ensure the properties are delivered at the earliest opportunity.

“A re-let typically requires multiple trades including, painters, carpenters, plumbers, heating engineers, plasterers, brick layers, electricians, roofers, glaziers, tilers, lock smiths etc.”

SDCC says that “direct labour craft workers are utilised to conduct these works” but are “subject to availability”.

“It should be noted the level of activity on re-let works can fluctuate throughout the year and the primary function of our craft workers currently is to ensure prompt and effective responses to maintenance requests from tenants and also in carrying planned and programmed maintenance activities.”

The council also said that the average cost of undertaking the required maintenance works to re-let a house €22,658.

Johansson, a councillor for Palmerstown-Fonthill said that the delay times and outsourcing  are “unacceptable.”

“These homes are lying idle, boarded up for six months when they could be turned around much quicker.

“Instead of outsourcing these works we need the council to hire more housing maintenance staff and apprentices that could do these jobs directly.”

In August housing maintenance workers held two one-day work stoppages protesting the outsourcing of their jobs.

Gino Kenny, People Before Profit TD for Dublin Midwest added: “We fully support the workers in their dispute regarding outsourcing.

“They are taking an important stand on this issue and deserve to be commended for it.

“In the midst of a housing crisis we should not be privatising and outsourcing the important jobs done by the housing maintenance staff.

“We need to see more staff employed by our councils to help build, renovate and upkeep social housing in this constituency.”

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